i've been working on Coachella (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTcoachella.html) and i've found some problems i just don't know how to solve. i'm doing the medium size.1) the easy one: the front part fits perfectly, with one set of short rows. but that's with just the short rows. the pattern says we have to knit 12 rows in stockinette, and, if desired, start the short rows on the 6th row. does that mean not to make the other stockinette rows, or to add them after the short rows are done? i did some others and i found the way they looked odd, so i'm thinking about ripping back to that point.2) the hard one:the back won't fit. i worked the increases to the point of joining, but each armhole needs almost 3 inches to give the top the same shape it has on the photos on knitty. and i'm not even sure that's how much i need to add, because i tried to join with CO 4 stitches in each armhole as the pattern says and it wouldn't even pass by my shoulders... the other thing is: the way it is now (1 set of short rows + 5 stockinette rows) , when laid flat the back is sligghtly shorter than the front. if i rip back to the short rows they'll be the same lenght. but when i try it on the back is at a much higher place.so, what should i do to fix the back? - frog and try again, maybe with bigger needles? - frog eeeeverything and try again, on the large size, without short rows? - increase the back till i have the large size, join, move place markers and follow the pattern as a large? - CO more stitches on the armholes (probably near 10 on each armhole), join, move place markers and try to adapt everything?

i'm asking here because the knitalong thread for Coachella is a little dead...

I'm working on a swatch for a lace cami, and i'm planning on making the lace pattern change gradually from bottom to top. i'm very happy with the way it went on, with the transition that i got. i'm only worried about one technical detail: the top and the bottom are both heavier than the middle.hmmm not very clear. what i mean is, the middle section has more YO's per row. i'm ok with lots of holes, i like them very much, and it's part of why i want the lace changing. (my logic is that more holes = less yarn needed, right? right?) so i just want to know if there is some problem that i'm not aware of with having a lacier part on the area between the navel and the bust. like... will it be baggy? looser around my waist? should i plan for side decreases when i go for the cami?

i'm working on a lace shawl, knit top down, with a top border in garter stitch 3 stitches wide only. and i just realized that 10 rows ago, i did a section of this border 1 inch long in stockinette instead of garter stitch. *facepalms*i won't lie, the lace is not incredibly complex, but i am reaching the end of the first ball now, and i just measured it. the last row is 67 inches long. the mistake is before the lifeline, so i can't just frog it and start again. i'll have to undo stitch by stitch, if i decide to do that (because i'm stupid and i can't learn how to put stitches back on the needles if i remove them without a lifeline).the lace is all perfect, because i've been very careful about that, even spent one night undoing stitches like that for 3 hours to correct a mistake i found. someone please convince me that i can live with that booboo

I had to order a pair of circular needles from a site in an emergency, and, as the shipping charges were almost 4 times the price of the needles, i threw in a couple balls of black bambu yarn. 3 balls would be on the next shipping category. 2 balls have about 550 yards. i suspect this is DK yarn, as the recomended needles go from 3,5mm to 4,5mm. I've been searching for patterns all afternoon, doing math and all, and i'm still not sure i'll have enough yarn to make a top...does anyone know of a pattern that would be suitable for this? my first reaction was to check on Coachella, but it calls for thicker yarn, thicker needles, and even if i could find gauge, i'd need more than twice as much yarn as i have. ordering more could be a problem because of the dyelot. i thought about ordering in other colours, but... well, last time i tried on a striped top i looked like the Cheshire Cat.So, i'm thinking lace. Razor Cami (http://ohmystars.net/craft/knitting/prazorcami.html) goes with DK yarn and 3,75mm needles, and used little more than 200m, but the cami was 26" around and have 40" on my bust. Should i try? Any suggestions?

i got this tape yarn to use as accent in a project but decided the colour wasn't right for that, so now i have 100 yards of shiny tape, and i don't know what to do with it. i know it's not enough for most things, and most small projects i can think of won't work for me. it's too hot here for scarves and mittens (and i've already made too many scarves for my friends who are going to travel/moved to cold places). i think the colour and the shine are too pretty to use for some toy, and i'm not a hat/headband kind of girl. and i can't try to make funky shiny (little) socks either because there are no DPNs to sell in the city. The dyelot is gone already, I only bought this one ball ages ago. the label says its gauge is 22st x 30 rows x 4 inches, on 4mm needles.So, am i wanting too much, and i'd be better off buying tape in other colours to make something stripey?

i've been searching and searching and even in the national websites that sell yarn i can't find any lace yarn. the only wool i've found anywhere is thick scratchy tapestry yarn, so all the choices i have are cotton or acrylic (and cotton not even in worsted weight). however, i have about 2000 yards of this: it's cotton, really really thin. the ball is all squishy, it's really thin, and it's a very pale shade of pink, so i can easily dye it over. i've been playing with 4mm needles and i'm getting about 3cm for 9 stitches. so, is there anything else i must know about lace that makes this cotton thread unsuitable for that?

For a while now I've noticed that my borders were never smooth, either the first stitch or the last one in a row always looks like a little knot. I kept meaning to ask what I was doing wrong but I postponed till now, because now I have good pics of the screw up. Behold!See, on the green stripe the first stitch of the first row disappeared totally (it's a knit row). It happens on all the blue rows too, but it's more visible on the pic when I change colours.Meanwhile, on the other border:An extra something appears!!Is it magic? OMG, the mistery!

it took me a whole day, from swatching and doing the math, charting the hearts and actually doing it. it was my first time changing colours (i don't know if i can call that fair isle - i left a really messy wrong side), first time grafting and seaming. and i had to learn these techniques while i did them.it's not perfect but it's much loved.

i'm trying to decide if i should start using a lifeline now, before i start needing it. if i were working lace, i'd put one each time i finished a repeat, but in a ribbing or stockinette pattern, when would it be sensible and when paranoia starts? a new line each 10 rows? 20? (5 rows, as my heart sings?)

i'm working on something big, but then i lost steam and decided i needed a small thing to have fun with. as i have no use for scarves, i decided to knit a thong instead i used a lacy stitch with 2 strands of acrilic thread and 4mm needles, but i crocheted the waistband, and used ribbon to make it adjustable.this last pic shows the real colour (not that i like it that much, but it was what i had at home...